MacBook upgrade considerations for increased RAM and storage

Re: RAM use... the M-series Mac use RAM more efficiently than Intel models. It's not uncommon to find that most of the available RAM is in use with what seems little in reserve. This is as it should be. The OS uses RAM to speed performance, so if it's available then it's likely to be used. It isn't efficient to have or keep lots of RAM in reserve, so the use of 13 of 16 GB RAM is not necessarily an indication that you need more. Use Activity Monitor to check on your RAM use. View the Memory Pressure graph. If the graph is green with few or no swaps used, then all is well with what you have under the current use circumstances. Still, no one ever said "Gosh, I think I have too much RAM!"

Check if your Mac needs more RAM in Activity Monitor - Apple Support

Re: storage... I don't think buying the 2 TB drive is a bad idea, especially considering your current MB is nearing its own 1 TB limit.

For your stated use case, no, I don't believe the chip you buy will matter much. These M-series Macs are powerhouses. If you thought you'd be doing much video editing or some other tasks that demand CPU performance, then it would be more important to consider a -Pro or -Max chip upgrade from the entry level chip.

I believe a MacBook Air can serve your purpose, The MacBook Pro does have some performance advantages, though I don't believe you really need them.

- I used to used 6 out of 8GB RAM, thought 16GB should be way more than enough. Nope, now using 13 of 16GB.

It's normal and expected for macOS to maximize use of its available resources, so that observation is to be expected. You could configure a Mac with more, and it will use more. Normal. Unused RAM is wasted RAM.

"I really regret buying so much memory" is one complaint you will never hear.

If you are interested in my personal opinion, it's that you should upgrade equipment when the equipment you have no longer meets your requirements. From what you describe, what you have is adequate. Eventually, it will be inadequate.

- The 1TB is 2/3 full and there are large chunks of files not on this machine so I feel I "need" 2TB.

Not a bad idea, and I happen to agree with it.

Do you reboot your Mac from time to time or simply let it remain running and idle?

Rebooting is an opportunity for the OS to do cache clearing and other housekeeping and can be helpful to free up the available RAM.

The fact that your memory pressure is in the yellow may be an indication of some underlying issue that is causing a performance hit. Office really should not open slowly.

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When it comes to RAM, my general rule of thumb would be to buy as much as you can afford, especially in your case with all the apps, tabs, and windows you have open all at the same time.

- The 1TB is 2/3 full and there are large chunks of files not on this machine so I feel I "need" 2TB.

FWIW, you probably do not need all that data on your machine and likely there is some you will never need again that could be removed. There is also probably a lot you rarely or just occasionally access that can be moved to an external drive and can be connected as needed and not really needed on a daily basis. Large external drives are mostly cheaper than Apples internal SSD tax.

Re: “Currently I have an M2 2022 16GB RAM 1TB drive, thinking to upgrade for Christmas.”

It sounds like what you have right now is perfectly fine - unless, perhaps, you’re looking to get a larger built-in screen, or drive two external displays.

If Memory Pressure is in the green, and Swap Used is not high, high RAM utilization is not a cause for concern or a sign of bad performance. You say your Mac has 16 GB of RAM, and my hunch is that this is plenty for the uses you describe.

An external display, keyboard, mouse, and docking station might in fact be the best upgrade you can get, if you do not already have those things. If you use your computer at home often, and have room for a 27” monitor, you will quickly get used to the workspace that a 27” monitor running in “[like] 2560x1440” mode can provide.

Re: “The memory pressure is yellow, and I sometimes get freezes I think related to that.”

Yellow means “RAM is marginal for what you are doing.” You may want to close some of those browser windows and tabs.

Get out of my head!! 🤣

Quantum entanglement 😄